July
by KeyRing
Summary: A series of ficlets that tell the story of what happened that July.  Taishirou.
1. Mouth

**A/N: Read the whole thing before reviewing please! It comes full circle at the end. Thank you!**

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><p><strong>July<strong>

**1. mouth (1 hour before)**

My heart beats.

Koushirou is laughing at a stupid joke I made. His dark eyes are warm and hold his smile in place. We're in my room, it's a Thursday night, and we're sitting on my bed playing a computer game on Koushirou's laptop. As my brown eyes lock and stay locked with his black, my insides burn like I've swallowed fire. All of a sudden, I can't help myself. His lips are still stained with a slight blue tint from another popsicle and I want to taste it. Want to taste him. I notice that he's suddenly gone very still and silent, and I realize that I've been subconsciously leaning in. My bravery rips through my veins and I follow through, the only thing I can do at this point, and press my lips gently against his. It's hesitant but purposeful and I mean all of it. I feel the shock run through his body; he didn't see it coming. He doesn't pull away though; he falls into it and softly accepts me. When I release him, panic floods through my body. I hadn't considered the aftermath- explaining myself, the possibility of rejection, and the hundred other scenarios that could happen in the next second, but before I can say something, he speaks.

"Finally," he says quietly with a hint of laughter in his voice. "I was getting sick of popsicles."

I blink. "Wait-" realization dawns on me. "…You did that on purpose?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," he says, a small smirk twitching on his lips.

I'm speechless, so I kiss him again.


	2. Skin

**2. skin (during)**

"Taichi-" he breathes and his words catch in his throat as I gently push inside him. His arms are wrapped around my neck and he's clinging to me like he'll die if he lets go. I can't believe that I'm doing this- that we're doing this. My heart is racing so fast I feel like it's going to beat right out of my chest. Unsure of exactly what to do next, I tentatively pull out and thrust back in. A whimper escapes his pink lips and he squeezes his eyes shut.

"Am I hurting you?" I whisper.

"No," he says, breathless. "Don't stop."

So I don't.

I continue, gaining speed and force, but staying gentle and in control. Koushirou is scratching at my back, moaning and making all sorts of sexy little noises that I didn't know could come out of him. The air smells of sweat and blood and we're soaking wet under the sheets in the summer night air. It's surreal. I lick a line from his collarbone to the soft patch of skin behind his ear, tasting him and drinking it in. He gasps, sensitive to the touch, and his whole body twitches. His throat and shoulders are flushed a rosy red against his normal white, and I don't think I've ever seen anything more beautiful. His breath quickens and he cries out as he comes, shaking and shuddering in my arms, and just seeing him so broken down and so vulnerable and so completely _mine_ causes me to do the same inside him. We collapse into a sticky pile of tangled limbs, drenched and panting. I feel disgusting and know I should go take a shower, but Koushirou tightens his grip on my shoulder blade. I open my eyes and find myself looking into his. He looks incredible. Really. His hair is wild and matted from sweat, cheeks flushed a brilliant pink, and his lips are curved into the sweetest smile I've ever seen. He's looking at me like I'm the only person in the world, and right now, I feel like we might be. The only people in the entire world, just us, the two of us, right here.

It just feels so perfect and right.

I pull him into me and bury my face in his red hair. He exhales and settles contentedly in my chest. Shortly after, I hear his breathing even out.

He's asleep.

A few minutes later, I am too.


	3. Annoyance

**3. annoyance (3 weeks before)**

"Onii-chan, telephone!"

My door slides open and my sister's face appears.

"Who is it?" I ask. I'm sitting on my computer, idly surfing the internet to kill time before soccer practice.

"Koushirou-san," she says, handing me the receiver. I grin and she raises an eyebrow, but doesn't say anything and leaves in silence.

"Hey," I say into the telephone, swiveling my chair back to the monitor. "What's up?"

"Hi," he says. "Just wanted to say hello, I didn't see you much today during school."

"Yeah, I know," I say. "I had detention over lunch. I can't wait for summer break, did you know we're not allowed to play soccer in the hallway between periods?"

He laughs, and I smile.

"How was your day?" I ask, checking my email.

"It was decent," he says.

"Yeah?" I say, opening an email and going to a website for sports equipment. I could use a new pair of soccer cleats. "Tell me about it."

Come to think of it, I could use a new ball too. Mine is covered in rubber burns and grass stains. I've had that ball since we got back from the Digital World for the first time. It feels like such a long time ago, and I suppose it was a long time ago. I wonder where Agumon is right now and what he's up to. Hopefully kicking ass and taking names, I grin to myself.

"Taichi-san?" Koushirou's voice brings me back.

"Huh?"

"Have you even been listening to me?"

"Of course I have-"

"Don't," he cuts me off. "You stopped paying attention five minutes ago."

I couldn't deny it. "I'm sorry, I-"

"Why is it so hard for you to listen to me?" he sounds hurt, but I can hear the bite behind his words.

"I do," I say stubbornly.

"No, you don't," he snaps back.

"Why are you being like this?" I say, getting annoyed. "You sound like Sora."

As soon as I say it I know I've crossed the line. I can hear Koushirou's anger through the silent phone.

"Koushirou," I say hastily, "I didn't mean that."

"Yes, you did. Have a good night, Taichi-san."

I flinch at the sound of the phone hanging up and wonder why I'm upset with myself instead of with him.


	4. Sadness

**4. sadness (2 weeks after)**

I run all the way home without stopping to catch my breath.

When I enter my apartment, I don't even stop to say hello to Hikari. She's sitting on the couch doing homework and I feel her gaze on the back of my head as I immediately go to my room and close the door. She knows something isn't right, but she won't follow me. She's learned by now when to ask me what's wrong and when to just leave me alone.

I throw my backpack on the ground and collapse facedown into my bed. My entire body is screaming in pain; I can feel my pulse in all my muscles and the metallic taste of blood slides down my throat with every swallow. Though that's nothing compared to how I feel inside.

I punch the wall angrily, not knowing what else to do. It doesn't make me feel better, but it doesn't make me feel worse, so I do it again, and again, and again. I'm about to connect my fist with the wall for the twelfth time when I hear a soft knock on the door.

"Hikari," I say aggressively. "_Go away_."

"It's me."

I freeze.

"Can I come in?"

When I don't respond, the door opens. Though I can't see him, Koushirou's presence fills the room.

"How did you-?" I ask, unmoving.

"Miyako-kun called me," he says, sitting on my bed. "She was in the computer lab and saw you running past."

"Oh." I hope that's all she saw, though I know it isn't. She wouldn't have called if she hadn't seen the reason why I was so quick to leave. Humiliation burns the back of my throat and I stare at the wall, unspeaking.

"What happened?" he asks.

With a heavy sigh, I sit up and look at him for the first time.

His eyes widen when he sees my face. I haven't looked in a mirror but if I look as bad as I feel, I must be pretty fucked up. I know my lower lip is split and bleeding into my mouth, I think I have a black eye, my jaw feels like it's pretty badly bruised and I can feel small cuts and scrapes all over the rest of my face.

"Oh, my God," he breathes, obviously devastated. "Why-?" The look on his face hurts worse than all my injuries combined.

"I-" I begin, "they-" and before I know it, I'm crying. Hard. I can't remember the last time I've cried, but here I am, sitting in my bed, crying like a little kid.

"Oh- shh, Tai, it's okay," he says awkwardly, unsure of what to do. He reaches for me, and I bury my face in his shoulder, arms around his neck, staining his shirt with my tears. I don't understand what I did wrong- what we did wrong. I don't understand how any of this could be wrong.

"I'm sorry," I manage to choke out. "I just don't know how to deal with this."

He doesn't speak, just gently strokes my hair. I feel so stupid- we're two high school boys, sitting on a bed, holding each other and I'm crying- but there's nothing else I can do. Everything hurts and I'm so confused and now I'm also wet.

He softly kisses my forehead and I catch my breath. I know it's going to be okay.

I have him.


	5. Envy

**5. envy (3 days before)**

I didn't know I had a jealous side.

I always considered myself to be a pretty chill guy, but now every time I see Koushirou and Miyako together, envy burns through my veins. I casually asked Hikari about it and she says that nothing is going on, they're just friends. Still, hot waves of jealousy pitch in my stomach when they close off to discuss new theories surrounding the Digital World or other geekery that the rest of us don't understand. Sometimes they go places, outside of the school computer lab, to talk about things. Like the park. Or cafes. Date-type places.

Like right now. I'm sitting on my couch playing Alien Destroyer 3 alone because he's at the bookstore with her instead of virtually saving the planet with me.

Whatever.

Hikari asked me why I cared so much. Why wouldn't I care- he's my best friend, and instead of hanging out with me after school, he's going off with her. It's natural that I would feel this way when seeing him spend time with someone else when he should be with me.

…Right?


	6. Hobby

**6. favorite hobby (2 days after)**

I didn't think it was possible, but I've found something I enjoy even more than playing soccer: playing soccer with Koushirou. It's a sunny Saturday afternoon and we're at the park. The regular Saturday park goers- the picnicking families, the joggers, the dogwalkers- are going about their business as we kick the ball back and forth on a shaded patch of grass. Koushirou's aim has gotten a whole lot better since he started playing with me. Not that he was bad before, he wasn't. Just he's better now. I'm teaching him how to bend the soccer ball today, and he's picking it up faster than I thought he would.

"Ready?" he calls from where he stands, fifteen feet away.

"Ready!" I say. He kicks the ball and it bends, just not very accurately, and ends up bouncing away. Nevermind what I said about his aim being better. I sprint to catch the ball before it interrupts someone's picnic, but I'm wearing street shoes with no traction and as I'm about to close in on the ball, I slip on a patch of new grass. I flail wildly for a second to catch my balance but it doesn't work and I suddenly find myself face down on the ground with a mouth full of grass.

"Taichi!" Koushirou runs over. "Are you alright?" He's laughing.

"What's funny?" I ask, rolling over onto my back and glaring up at him playfully from the ground.

"That looked absolutely ridiculous," he says, standing over me, still laughing. He looks beautiful with his hair burning bright red in the summer sun. Really amazing.

"Oh yeah?" I reach up, snatch his wrist and yank him downward. He yelps, caught off guard, and falls not so gracefully on top of me.

"Taichi!" He exclaims indignantly, looking down on me. He's trying to look offended, but his still laughing eyes give him away.

"Now who's ridiculous?" I say, smirking at him.

"Still you," he says, sticking his tongue out at me.

I lean upwards and kiss him anyway.


	7. Patience

**7. patience (1 day before)**

"I just don't understand this."

"Taichi, it's not that hard."

"Yes it is! Not all of us have an IQ of two hundred like you do." I glare at him and he sighs.

"I know you can do this."

"I don't _want_ to do it anymore." I slump down in my chair and cross my arms.

"Try it again. I'll re-explain it. You'll get it."

Koushirou leans in to outline the equation. His shoulder is nearly touching mine and I can smell his shampoo. It's kind of like a husky vanilla or something like that, I don't know. I bite my lip and try to follow what he's saying, but he just smells really fucking good.

"And that's all you have to do. It's simple, once you break it down," he says, and the patience in his voice makes me realize what an asshole I'm being.

"Koushirou," I say, suddenly feeling bad. "Why do you do this for me?"

He turns his head. A soft smile is on his lips as he looks at me, his face only a few inches from mine.

"Because I can," he says. "I want to."

It's definitely vanilla.


	8. Word

**8. favorite word (1 week before)**

The door to the video game store jingles. I turn my head expectantly from where I'm standing at the bin of used games and see Koushirou walking in, removing his sunglasses, a popsicle the same sickly green color as his school blazer in his mouth.

"Which flavor is _that_?" I ask as he approaches me.

He shrugs. "Some fruit and vegetable blend. It was all they had."

"Ugh," I say, wrinkling my nose. "There's no way that can taste good."

"Again, Taichi-san, some of us care about our health," he says, sucking on it.

"I do care," I say. "Just not enough to eat things like that."

I can't tell if he's actually blushing or if it's just the heat tinting his cheeks.

"Anyway," he says, and points to the game in my hand. "What'd you find?"

"Alien Destroyer 3!" I say excitedly, pumping my fist. "Daisuke said it was amazing, thirty-six levels of nonstop violence and gore!"

"Prodigious!" he grins. "Can we start tonight?"

"Why is that a question?" I say, walking up to the counter to pay for the game.

"Prodigious," he says again, following and sucking the popsicle into his mouth.

There aren't a lot of people in the world who enjoy playing alien videogames for hours straight. I'm glad I have someone who does.


	9. Sleep

**9. sleep (3 hours after)**

I wake up suddenly and realize that I'm naked. For a moment, I'm confused and don't know how I got that way, but then I see Koushirou curled up on his side next to me and the sheets stained with small patches of white and red, I remember. My gaze falls back on him. The moon is filtering in through the window and illuminating his porcelain skin, no longer flushed and sweating, but now even-toned and smooth. His face is calm aside from his eyelashes, which are trembling rapidly.

Dreaming.

I wonder if he's dreaming about me. I want to touch him, but I don't want to break his stillness. Instead, I watch him, my eyes going over every detail of his body. His lips. His shoulders. His hips. His legs. His feet. All of it. I look at him over and over and over again until I've memorized every inch and every contour of his body, my pulse quickening with desire.

A soft sigh escapes his mouth and his eyes flutter open.

"Taichi?" he says sleepily, noticing I'm awake. "What time is it?" He pulls himself up onto his elbow, a hint of alarm in his voice.

"Not time to wake up yet," I say. "It's okay."

His face relaxes and he slumps back into the pillow. He winces when he hits the mattress.

"Are you alright?" I ask, feeling guilty for what I've done.

"You're worth it," he looks at me with half-lidded eyes. "And I'd do it again right now if you asked."

Heat pools inside me as my body says yes, but I know I can't put him through that again, even if he says he wants it. He watches me struggle to resist for a moment and then laughs softly.

"Here," he says, and trails a few fingers down my stomach, his head following.

I know I'll sleep well for the rest of the night.


	10. Suck

**10. suck (afternoon before)**

No one would've guessed it, but Koushirou really likes popsicles. Since the beginning of the month, he's been eating them all the time. It's like every time I see him, he's either already eating or trying to find a popsicle. I've asked him why he's so into them, and he says that he just likes the consistency or something. It's never bothered me before.

Not until today.

I don't know what he's doing differently, but he's doing something. We're sitting outside under our favorite tree at the park, it's a humid July Thursday afternoon. I'm playing a wonderswan game I borrowed from Yamato, and he's doing a Sudoku puzzle. I just made the mistake of taking a sideways glance at him next to me, just to see what he's up to, and I immediately regret it. He's lying on his stomach, pencil in one hand, popsicle in the other, bare legs in the air and ankles crossed. I don't know what it is, but the way he's licking at that thing is ridiculous. He seems to be concentrating on his puzzle, but his tongue is sliding around the blue ice in circles that make my head spin. I can't look away. He stops drawing circles and sucks the whole popsicle into his mouth, working his lips around it. I can't stop watching.

He looks up, notices my stare and pulls the popsicle out of his mouth. "What?" His lips are blue.

"You're-" I begin, but don't even know what to say. "Nevermind."

He raises an eyebrow and goes back to his numbers, licking the popsicle straight up from bottom to top. I take a deep breath and try to distract myself with something- anything- but I keep looking back at him. Not just the popsicle eating, but everything about him is suddenly, I don't know, _sexy_- the curve of his back, his thin, bare legs, his feet, I don't know, everything.

I want him. Like,_ want_ him.

Suddenly, everything comes crashing down on me. Like how I spend all my free time with him, and how much I like spending all my free time with him. Like how he helps me with my homework even though I'm a huge douchebag about it. Like how he plays video games with me and never lets me win without a fight. Like how even though we never talk about feelings and stuff, I know he cares about me, a lot. Like how he's my best friend and probably my favorite person in the world.

I think... I love him.

Scratch that.

I know I do.

"…Are you sure you're okay?" he asks me gently, and the concern in his voice makes me look up.

"Yeah," I say. I'm more than okay. A blissful contentment settles in my chest and I can't take my eyes off him. "Do you want to come over tonight?"

"Sure," he says, smiling at me.

I smile back.

My heart beats.


End file.
